THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS

You can hardly flick through a fashion magazine without catching a mention of the Little Black Dress. I feel like growing up it’s one of the items of clothing we have drummed into us that we just HAVE to have somewhere in our wardrobes, and to be honest, I’m not disagreeing.

We’ve all had those evenings when we’re getting dressed up for an event or drinks with pals, where we try on pretty much everything we own, decide we hate all the clothes in our wardrobes, throw a strop and consider just staying in after all. Once we’ve exhausted all options (and the entirety of the bed, floor, and any available surface is covered with clothes) we usually resort to our fail-safe. The one thing we know we can throw on and feel like we can hold our head high. I know for me through the years this is usually some variation of the LBD.

The beauty of the LBD is the ability to switch it up from time to time. Accessories hold the ability to completely alter the vibe of an outfit and this is never truer than when we’re talking about the Little Black Dress. You can go bold with accessories or you can be more on the subtle side, the LBD is forgiving either way. Whoever you wake up wanting to be on any given day, there is a black dress out there for you.

Yes, the one I am wearing here is a bit extra, but when Cari’s Closet* asked me to pick an item from their website to style I knew straight away this was the one for me. I have always been a fan of lace and high-necked items of clothing always catch my eye so really it was a perfect match. it’s rather swanky, which to be honest is something I quite like about it. admittedly I don’t think I will get a tonne of wear out of it, but it’s always handy to have a dress like this tucked away for when the right occasion comes along.

Norwich Cathedral seemed the ideal location to shoot this dress. Being the most extravagant building in our fine city with gothic characteristics nowhere was more fitting.

Being more of a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal day to day, I really enjoyed playing dress up for a couple of hours! I knew as soon as I tried this dress on I wanted to pair it with an updo. I usually only allow for hairstyling time when I am going somewhere more on the fancy side, and as this dress is more elaborate than what I am used to I thought it deserved an updo (and I would have hated to have hidden these gorgeous lace sleeves under my unruly mane). When rummaging through my makeup bag when getting ready to shoot this outfit I knew a red lip was the only option to team with this dress. I love the drama of red lipstick and seeing as I was already going all out I figured why the hell not, for good measure.

The little black dress can be as casual or frilly as you want it to be, and if you ask me you can’t have too many on standby for those days you wake up in a fashion rut. What is your favourite style of LBD?